


Crossing the Center

by GuyOfShy



Series: Time Beyond a Price [3]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Feelsy stuff later, It's just puddles of words ugh, Lots of kissing, sorry i tried
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-26
Updated: 2015-11-26
Packaged: 2018-05-03 13:18:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5292275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuyOfShy/pseuds/GuyOfShy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Max organizes a midnight meeting with Chloe and ditches her dorm for her girlfriend’s house. Beyond that though, she doesn't really have a plan of action, but the one she suggests fancies Chloe’s interest.</p><p>Kind of a ‘first date’ situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crossing the Center

**Author's Note:**

> It’s Thanksgiving, so ... a thank you to my most cherished friend, and an apology to them for crossing the center. My actions have certainly have had consequences ...

Max counted the things in her bag for the third time, just to be sure she had everything. Camera, cell phone, books to give to Chloe, clothes to return to Chloe ...

She turned around to her room, ensuring everything was neat and tidy. Her bed was made, power strip turned off, Lisa watered, nothing too embarrassing lying about …

Everything was in order.

“Okay Max,” she breathed to herself. “You’re free.”

She locked her door, and as she walked across her room glanced at a prized photo of her and Chloe on her desk. She would get her back one day for photobombing that early morning selfie. Not that she minded.

‘See you soon,’ she promised it with a smile before unlocking her window.

Max slipped one leg over and straddled the windowsill to prepare to vault into the grass, ready to begin a nocturnal pilgrimage across the courtyard to Chloe’s truck, which sat idle not far from the dormitories.

Max swung her legs over and rested her palms against the sill, mind wholly occupied with the happy hopes of meeting up with Chloe. She could imagine her now, coolly resting her chin in her hand and staring out at the moonlit waters along the coast, lounging in her seat and occasionally stealing glances at the dorm building as she anxiously awaited Max’s arrival.

' _Now that would make for an excellent photo. I shouldn't keep her waiting any longer_.'

“Max?”

She jumped at the sudden intrusion, almost falling down in her fright. She searched all around for the startling source but couldn’t find who had spotted her.

“Max, over here. What are you doing?”

The hushed whisper slinked up from the right, and she turned to discover Dana peering out of her dorm window with a skeptical stare. Max’s face quickly began to swelter and her tongue leapt for a quicker explanation, but no convincing excuse came to mind.

“Uh, I would say it’s not what it looks like, but…”

“Why are you sneaking out? You know it’s past curfew.”

“Well…” Max’s voice stumbled off, unsure of the best excuse to throw at Dana.

‘ _Well? Well what Max? What_ are _you doing right now? Say something!_ ”

“I’m, going to see someone,” she sheepishly admitted.

Dana leaned forward with an amazed grin, positively intrigued. “Really? Oh, it’s your friend Warren, isn’t it? Our Maxie has a boyfriend, I’m so proud of you!”

“No no, not Warren. We’re cool and all, but… not that close. Dana please don’t tell anyone. I’d rather not have a pity party thrown in my honor. And… she’s a girl.”

Dana continued smiling before promising to keep quiet. “I understand Max, don’t worry. You helped me with my relationship, so I’ll help you with yours.”

“Thanks Dana. I can always count on you, huh?”

“Not if you’re getting busted after curfew,” she teased.

“Don’t worry about us Dana. We don’t start trouble too often.”

Max sent her a smirk and hopped down, landing just shy of clearing the bushes.

“Shit,” she muttered, daintily plucking herself out of the surprisingly sharp shrubs. “Damn, Samuel trims these to a point.”

Max grimaced when she felt a legion of lacerations slice up her hands, and as she took her leave scowled back at the hellish hedges.

She soundlessly traipsed across the grass to a large tree that had fortunately erected itself near the boundary wall of the dorms. Max stepped onto a prominent root of the wooden titan, and graciously thanked it as she hopped off and hoisted herself over the wall.

She spotted the beaten down truck around the corner and gleefully quickened her pace. A smile began to emerge as she neared it, knowing that her cherished seraph waited just seconds away to whisk her to a sanctuary far from her dreary dorm room.

Max yanked open the passenger door and leapt in, casting her bag to the floor before casting her grin to Chloe.

“There’s my ninja. Still haven’t been caught huh?”

“Funny you should say that…”

Chloe groaned and gripped the wheel, hauling the truck into drive so she could pull away before any witnesses came to detain her girlfriend.

“C’mon Max! Ninjas don’t get caught! That’s like the number one rule of ninja-ing. Now, rewind so nobody else will know your identity.”

As Max clicked on her seat belt she said, “It was just one of my friends. And if you ask me, ninjas of love should get a free pass.”

Chloe scoffed and started driving, wheels rumbling to life on the pavement.

“I still can’t believe you actually got me to read that.”

“I still can’t believe you read it,” Max echoed. ’Ninjas of Love' was way too mushy for Chloe's tastes.

“Well, what can I say. It was a good book.”

“There’s more, if you want to read them,” Max hopefully offered.

“Yeah, hit me up! You should totally bring ‘em next time.”

“I totally would, but…”

Max paused to sift through the contents of her bag, and pulled out two slender slices of prose to present to the beanied book reader.

"There's no need to bring them next time," she finished, pleased with herself for having thought to have brought them.

Chloe smiled and kicked back in her seat.

“Rock on Max. You can read minds and reverse time. Or, maybe you just reversed time on me. I don't know. Would you do that to me Max?”

“Considering you just asked me to a moment ago, yes,” she chuckled.

"And there's that smartass attitude again."

"I learned from you," Max said, allowing a grin to crawl to her lips.

"You sure know how to push my buttons in just the right way. Just how many times have you rewound this conversation?" Chloe inquired, looking at her with an accusatory smirk.

"Remember what I said? No rewinding just for Chloe points. Green light."

Chloe hastily turned back to the road. "Oh, right. Still driving. It’s kind of hard to focus with you around." With a quick glance she saw Max turning away with an embarrassed smile, and she smiled herself.

Keeping her eyes glued on the road this time Chloe rosily asked, "So what are you planning to do when we get to my place?"

"Was I supposed to have a plan?"

"Well, I thought maybe you had something super cool in store for us, something fun so we don't just crash immediately."

Max did have an idea ... She had thought about it countless times in class and her teachers always rudely wrenched her from her daydreams when she considered it, but she considered now as good a time as any.

‘ _No time like the present_ ,’ she reassured herself, a bit amusingly, and proposed her suggestion with a quiet misgiving in her voice.

"You seemed to like it when I kissed you, before. How does that sound?"

"Dude. A hardcore make out session would totally make my night.” Chloe turned to Max with a shit-eating grin, one that she recognized all too well.

“You came up with that pretty fast though. Have something on your mind Max? Because I just might be able to help you with that."

Max felt the hot blush warming her cheeks and began tapping her feet against the floor mat. She had meant it as a joke, even though she knew she deeply desired to try kissing Chloe again. She just wasn't sure she could do it.

"Hey, Earth to Max. C'mon, don't make such a tempting offer and chicken out on me."

"No, I just... The first time lasted for like, half a second."

"So, why don't you finish the other half? And then a minute?"

Max just shrugged, unable to explain why she felt the need to curb her pining enthusiasm.

"I guess I'm just nervous."

"What's there to be nervous about? It's just us."

Max turned away from Chloe's confrontational tone, trying to focus more on the scenery flying by outside the window than on her lips.

"What if I kiss you wrong or something?"

"Big fuckin' deal, you're gonna be kissed so often you'll be a champ in no time, whether you want it or not. And you _will_ want it," she asserted, turning back to the road.

"I just hope you will," Max dejectedly responded.

"Max, didn't you hear what I just said? Look, you knew as soon as you kissed me the first time that it was going to happen a lot more often, so don't try to pull this stuff on me. I'm not letting you wimp out that easily. I’ll kiss you every time you open your mouth if it means you doing the same for me. I’ll take you to my house every day and kill your scholarship if I have to."

"Careful Chloe, you're beginning to sound like Nathan."

Chloe playfully slugged her in the shoulder with a laugh.

"Hey, Nathan Prescott drugs the ones he wants in his bed. I figured you'd come willingly."

"The only drug I'm on is you," Max modestly replied.

Chloe smiled and sighed. “Man, I wish I could come up with stuff as sweet as that.”

“You’re your own kind of sweet Chloe. And, you tease me way too well.”

Sweet? That wasn’t really how Chloe thought of herself when she looked in the mirror. She thought it strange that Max described her as sweet, of all things, but she had stated it so confidently that she almost didn’t think twice about it.

She caught herself frowning and quickly exchanged it for a grin.

“Sweet, huh? What’s it taste like?”

“Well, I’m about to find out, aren’t I?” Max uneasily said.

“I could give you a taste test right now, if you’d like.”

"I’ll wait for the main course. We're almost at your house," she noted, as they entered her neighborhood and houses began cruising by her view.

"Hell yeah. You'd best prepare yourself, Maxine Caulfield! Get that nervous head of yours in gear, before I get your lips in gear."

"Now that's something I wouldn't mind rewinding..."

Heat sprawled throughout Max's face, swooning at the idea.

Chloe turned into her driveway and snapped the gear in park, grinning away at the frazzled photographer.

"You're so damn cute. You won't have to rewind, 'cause we've got a lot of hours left to burn."

"Ever heard of mono?"

“Yeah, and I don’t care. Let’s ladder up. Don’t wanna wake up my parents.”

Max abandoned the truck with Chloe, following her to the side of the house to climb up the ladder that she had purposely positioned there earlier that day.

"Guess we're real ninjas now," Max muttered as they crawled through the window and shut it behind them.

Chloe danced up to her bed and turned with an excited grin, but Max didn't follow immediately, instead taking slow steps as she gazed around Chloe's familiar crib. Calm, tranquil blues of the night illuminated her room, saturating the walls and the air in an inky hush.

"I love your room so much Chloe. No other place makes me feel like this. Like, every time I come in is brand new."

She was suddenly spun around to face Chloe, who held her hands close on Max's cheeks, confined and cornered in the tiny space between them.

"Kiss me Max,” she breathed, smiling, ready to be swept off her feet. “You didn't hesitate before, so don't disappoint me now."

Max only uttered a croak, unable to do anything but blink. And, for a moment, stop breathing. Her heart had been swiftly snatched away by her butterflies into a daze of nervous thoughts, and again she caught herself lost, dreaming about Chloe's arresting allure just like she had been on the windowsill.

But Chloe was here. This was happening, and though Max was tremendously anxious, nothing was going to change the tantalizing fact that their lips were only an inch away from each other’s, or the fact that Chloe would only allow them to get closer.

She sucked in a tense breath, restlessly staring far into Chloe's eyes as she tried to compose herself, or at least a thought. But the distance in them seemed so endless, and she felt drawn into the luminance resting there. They appeared to her just like the moonlit waters on the coast. They were begging her to approach.

' _Right... Breathe Max. Remember what you did the first time. Deep breath, pucker up, grab her shoulders and pull her in. And stand on your toes_.'

Max did as she commanded herself and clumsily yanked Chloe toward her, nearly stumbling off her feet but thankfully managing to land the kiss on her lips. Nervousness instantly choked her heart of breath and it hammered heavily against her chest, but feeling Chloe’s cool hands on her cheeks prevented her from having a total meltdown.

She allowed Chloe to guide her breathlessly through her novice motions, but soon found herself wandering closer and taking wanton pecks of her own. Noses mashed together and lips enthusiastically collided as Max wrapped her hands around Chloe's back, accidentally releasing a covetous breath as she did. She didn’t think about the action, they just went there, on their own.

She felt her cheeks catching fire but paid no mind since Chloe was catering to them so ardently. Max felt their smiles bumping against their lips, almost causing her to begin laughing with how simply happy she felt.

' _Chloe’s lips are so soft... And this just feels so, pleasant. Holy hell, my heart is beating fast!_ '

It then occurred to Max just what was causing it to thump so rapidly.

She stumbled away before it exploded, staring wide-eyed at Chloe and swearing that the room heated up fifty degrees. Max's nervous hands trembled at her sides, reflecting on how empty it felt without Chloe in them, but these qualms were shadowed by her eagerness to have her return.

' _Me and Chloe just kissed... Like, seriously kissed. I couldn't believe it the first time, but now... Oh my god_."

Chloe was wearing the hugest grin, looking positively enthused as she stepped back toward Max with her arms crossed. And pleased.

"Damn, you don't pull any punches Max. I like it! And it looks like you enjoyed yourself as well. First reaction?"

“Other than being speechless? Wowser...”

Chloe laughed and stepped closer, preparing to re-engage. “You’re such a dork. Though, you really don’t kiss like one.”

“I'm 'hardcore' right? Um, Chloe... I think I do want it. We should do that again."

Chloe smiled at the girl’s earnest fervor.

"You're too adorable. Master Max asks and I shall oblige," she simpered, returning to Max's arms and gladly planting her lips on the freckled photographer’s.

Immediately the same chilling jolt greeted her skin and her heart jumped, and she took a step closer to Chloe. Max wasn't sure what it was about being this physically close to Chloe that made her so ecstatic. She wasn't sure why hearing and feeling her breathing aroused her lips into a smile, and then when Chloe smiled she wasn't sure why she wanted to laugh.

"What's so funny Max?" She inquired, starting to giggle herself.

"Nothing at all, just ignore me," she said, trying her best to calm her unsteady laughter. 

"How do you expect me to do that when you keep getting cuter? If you don't stop I'll have to start taking drastic measures."

“I’d love it if you did.”

Chloe lunged for her instead of taking the time to respond and Max gleefully surrendered without protest. She craned her head as Chloe pushed her back and began trailing kiss after kiss along her jaw and down her neck, adoring how brightly she blushed. 

Tingles jumped around Max's skin and she could have sworn her heart was going to jump out of her chest, which she was afraid Chloe was going to tackle next if she grew any more anxious. She wanted to reciprocate her actions but felt paralyzed, as if she were sweet prey caught in the covetous grips of her lover, the only difference being that Max wasn’t trying to break free. She smiled and allowed herself to be swept off her feet by Chloe, burgeoning into delight with every look and kiss they shared.

Her head was abruptly tilted back down and Chloe quizzed her lips once more to ensure that she was still with her, and was not disappointed. Max quickly leaned into a smooch that her mouth had been urging her to leap for, and Chloe answered her appeal by slipping in a tongue, causing Max to lurch as she felt the foreign appendage exploring with her own.

Instantly a fire burst in her face and she stepped back out of the embrace, holding a hand over her mouth. “Woah,” she muttered, cowering in confusion.

Chloe wavered when Max ejected herself from her hug. Inwardly she was kicking herself. That last plunge had to be too quick for Max to be comfortable with. She feared she had just mutated all of the heated passion from seconds ago into stagnant awkwardness. Max shyly avoided looking at Chloe, worrying her immensely. She wanted to say ‘wait’ and ‘sorry,’ or anything really, but she instead waited anxiously on Max to respond.

“Um... I forgot French kissing was a thing, but I don’t think I could forget now. Are you sure you haven’t been to Paris yet?”

Chloe released a sigh of relief and wrapped Max in a big hug.

“Nope. Not yet, but you and I are gonna get there someday. Anyway, you might be hardcore, but you said yourself that you learn from me. Time to learn to French kiss!”

“In that case, I’d rather have you than any of my other teachers at Blackwell.”

Chloe let her go and backed away with an amused grin.

“Hey, let’s not turn this into some weird student-teacher roleplay thing. That’s a little much, even for me.”

“What? No, no way Chloe! Don’t make it weird!”

“C’mon, lighten up a little Max. I might be your sidekick, but I still have valuable relationship info to teach you you know. So like it or not, I will be teaching you.”

“Speaking of, that tongue-in-cheek move of yours was pretty tongue-in-cheek.”

Chloe grinned and shrugged. “Sorry. Got a little impatient there. I’m sure you didn’t mind though,” she said as she jettisoned her earlier fears.

“No way. Like I said, you’re your own kind of sweet.”

There it was again. ‘Sweet’ strikes back. Chloe didn’t think her tongue play was particularly sweet either, but more along the lines of spicy. Taking the thought with her she stripped down to her shorts and t-shirt for the night and crashed onto her bed, turning a curious stare to Max.

“So? What’s it like?”

“It’s weird. It’s a lot of jumbled feelings.”

Chloe patted the space beside her, and as Max settled down close on the mattress asked, “What’s the first?”

“Shock.”

“And then?”

“Embarrassed.”

“Followed by?”

“Happiness. A lot of happiness.”

“Wow. That’s a lot to cycle through in one kiss.”

“It was a long kiss, and I was nervous as hell too, but if you kissed me for that long I must be decent at it.”

“Don’t worry about it Max. Honestly, I’m still reeling. You’re a pretty natural kisser.”

Max didn’t really feel like she kissed well, more like she clumsily slammed her lips against Chloe’s, but she had to take her word for it.

“I wouldn’t mind a few more lessons,” she confessed.

“Luckily for you I don’t charge a fee.”

“Hey Chloe? Speaking of fees... screw my scholarship. We _should_ do this every day.”

Chloe grinned and knocked her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, I already planned on it. For once I’m a step ahead of you Super Max.”

Chloe really did wish they could do this every day. She wished they could just goof off and do whatever, go into town, to the junkyard or the beach or the pool, or just crash at her house and not worry about Blackwell or life or anything but each other. Everything could be so perfectly peaceful ...

“Hey, Max? Would you actually give up your scholarship? For me?”

Chloe didn’t look at her, being fearful of her response. In fact, she completely regretted asking such a stupid question. Blackwell was Max’s dream, after all. And after all, she had let go of Chloe before to pursue it. Why should it be any different now?

“Of course I would Chloe,” she said, almost matter-of-factly.

Chloe almost did a double take. Max responded much quicker and in a tone much more decided than she had imagined she would have, as if she had already made this decision for herself.

“...Really? Why Max? Isn’t Blackwell a gateway to your photography dream?”

“It is, but I don’t need a scholarship or a world-famous professor or a lecture a day to take good pictures. I can do that on my own, but I’d rather have you at my side Chloe.”

Damn ... Damn, Chloe hated this feeling. She really fucking hated the way it felt when she was tearing up, the liquid warmth in her cheeks and the knot in her stomach and everything else that came along with it. She tried to force it all back down as best she could, pulling in a stifled breath and turning to wrap Max in a big hug.

“I’m telling you for the last time, you’re the sweet one Max. Thanks. That, really means a lot.”

Max embraced Chloe as well and pulled her closer, nestling their heads together. “Don’t thank me Chloe. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep us together, you know that. That’s all I ever wanted.”

“I do, but, could you stop making me so sad all the time?”

“Love you too,” she chuckled.

Max lifted her head with a heartening smile but was unsettled by a shadowed tear rolling down Chloe’s cheek. She gingerly opened her eyes and Max saw more droplets threatening to well over, and the picture stopped everything she was thinking except for how comely Chloe appeared.

At the time she had sneaked out earlier, the thought about Chloe being a seraph hadn’t made much sense. She had just been rambling poetics about her girlfriend as she approached, but now … Chloe appeared much like an angel to her, just without the wings and the halo. She wasn’t exactly sure why it all snapped together at that moment. Maybe it was just that for once, Chloe looked exposed, sincere and impartial in her sentiments. She looked relaxed and untied from all of the many troubles that burdened her. 

Despite appearing so rough-and-tumble, her youthful innocence, back from when they were kids, was still retained in her features. No matter how many times it may have been shattered or tears she may have cried to hold it together. Benevolence lied everywhere in the caring curves of her face, and in her delicate eyes lived a mature love that pulled Max in when she looked and refused to let her wander away. Pearly moonlight seemed to shimmer over the stretches of her flawlessly fair skin.

“Max?” She sniffled, then smiled at her. “You okay?”

Gulping a reviving breath into her body, Max earnestly muttered, “Chloe, I don’t think there’s any camera in the world that could do you justice.”

... Oh. Chloe was too taken aback to respond; she was expecting some sort of consolation from that lost look of hers instead of a such a generous compliment, but the worst part was, she wasn’t sure if it helped to stop her tears or only summoned more. She wanted to come up with a clever response to ward away Max’s suspicions but just couldn’t tear her mind away from her.

Instead of speaking she pulled her into a kiss by the back of her neck, tangling their legs under the cover with another hand resting comfortably and silently around her waist. They traded ticklish kisses in this affectionate manner, until Chloe slid away to deliver that clever response she was musing over.

“You say that a camera can’t do me any justice, but I know a photographer and a good set of lips that could.”

“I’m honored,” Max said with a smile.

She waited for Chloe’s reply, but she haltingly fell listless again.

“Uh, sorry I got a little teary there. I… really missed you Max. I missed hanging out like this. It was so different when you were still around. And when you left.”

Chloe’s gaze had drifted away while her head drifted into dismal memories, but Max forced her to look at her as she spoke, slowly and solemnly.

“I’m here now Chloe. And I’m never going to leave. We can hang out like this every day and kiss all day and drive around all day and do whatever else you want.”

Chloe quietly smiled and nudged closer, feeling arms and elbows clamoring for room.

“Thanks Max. It’s just that you’re all that I’ve got now. Everybody left, but thankfully you decided to come back. If I lost you again… I, don’t even want to think about it.”

“Then don’t,” she urged. “Kiss me instead, or go to sleep and dream about kissing me. Just don’t worry about me leaving. I will never make you go through that kind of pain again Chloe.”

“I know,” she sighed. “Again, thank you Max. Seriously.”

Chloe glanced away before raising a hopeful grin. “So… you wanna kiss now?”

“I’d love to.”

As she nudged closer and puckered up, Max couldn’t help but think that Chloe probably would have thrown the halo away anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> As I said, this is dedicated to a friend, and this is my representation of going back and changing a decision if ever I could, with one hundred percent added Pricefield.
> 
> So I meant to have this done a long while ago, but it became increasingly difficult for me to write for personal reasons, and then it just kept getting delayed. Schoolwork had me pinned down and I had to get some RWBY stuff done. Sorry. Trying to come up with some more Pricefield ideas I can do.
> 
> Onto my thoughts about this piece. My pacing everywhere was pretty not great, I think. For this one I kind of just let my thoughts tumble out to see how it worked, and I liked how it came out in the end though I know it wasn't my best. I wanted to make it serious feelsy and not kissing-romantic feelsy, but I really couldn't bring myself to, so there was that weird mix as well. If you do decide to drop a comment, opinions on these things would be nicely appreciated (I won’t make another stupid mistake in the comments this time, I promise *sad face*).
> 
> Episode 5 ... Very good game Life Is Strange, and very well played. Thank you DONTNOD and SE and everyone that worked on and supported it, and thank you for reading this silly little fic everyone. Have a great day and a peaceful night.


End file.
